A fly in the SS payment ointment....

[Bruce]

This is a continuation of When To Start Taking SS Payments. As that thread is now 10 pages long and I did not want to get lost in there somewhere...

Speaking of taking SS payments earlier than full retirement age, and knowing that you get 25% less per month than you would have gotten at full retirement age, I am wondering about Medicare rules. I have been told that when turning 65, you are automatically eligible for Medicare and in fact a friend of mine who did turn 65, was instantly dropped by his primary insurance company.

I have also been told that you MUST buy supplemental insurance Plan B from Medicare OR face a cash 'penalty'. The costs of Plan B is about $200+ a month and I have been told and there are costly additional plans available but not mandatory.

TIME LINE: OK, you hit 62 and take SS. But you are not 65. You get your monthly check, which is less 25% of the full retirement amount. Lets say that your check is $1,000 a month. So you collect $1,000 a month until age 65. Lets assume you are one of the millions without health insurance for any reason you can think of. Then you reach age 65. You are hit with either mandatory Medicare Plan B deductions OR that financial penalty. So, now you are looking at a net check of (about) $780 per month for the rest of your life, instead of that $1,000 a month you had been getting.  

Here is the math part.    In the other post, there were well thought out financial reasons why not to wait for full retirement age. OK, but those arguments did not factor in the Medicare costs / penalty. In theory, by waiting to (your) full retirement age to get your full check, then deducting (about) $220 a month for Medicare, you are better off now by a net check of over $1,000 a month, which is where you would be at age 62 anyway, instead of a net check of $780 for those retiring at 62, now over 65 and paying for Medicare (or that cash penalty). Keep in mind that the use of Medicare is quite restricted for expats and perhaps might be used as a last resort option for a serious health issues and the need to return to the US.

Note that SS checks vary greatly between those who worked 40+ years and paid in vs. those with a spotty work history or years of unreported income (waiter or other tip based employment).      

          

[davewe]

You do not have to take Medicare B; you can opt out. However, if you opt out and later on decide you want it, I think there's a bit of a penalty. " Your monthly premium for Part B may go up 10% for each full 12-month period that you could have had Part B, but didn't sign up for it."

Part B covers 2 types of services

• Medically necessary services: Services or supplies that are needed to diagnose or treat your medical condition and that meet accepted standards of medical practice.
• Preventive services: Health care to prevent illness (like the flu) or detect it at an early stage, when treatment is most likely to work best.

If you're living in the Philippines and are unlikely to use Medicare at all, other than a trip to the US or Guam for a surgery, then opting out is reasonable. That's what I intend to do.

Edited October 5, 2016 by davewe

[Happyhorn52]

Not everyone has a choice on when to retire! I was laid off from my oil and gas job prior to turning 62 so did not have the option of working to 65, 66 or even 70. Life is a bitch and not always fair. I am 64 now and will sign up for medicare a few months prior to turning 65. 

http://www.medicareconsumerguide.com/medicare-part-b

[robert k]

I don't work for and have no financial interest in Pacific Cross. Disclaimer out of the way age 66 private room insurance is 69,299 php or USD $1,444 for 1.5 million php at the moment. This is the premier plan. I'm quite a bit under 66 so I will get better coverage for less money until i reach 66 but that is how it works anywhere with private insurance. This sounds fairly reasonable. I would be in the 51-55 age group and for the 3 million peso plan, suite and other goodies 57k php USD $1,187 per year

That medicare in the US may not be of much use to you. If you need heart surgery right now, of course you are going to travel to the airport, loaf around there for a few hours, days? Fly out, get off the plane in Guam and be whisked away to a hospital for surgery... how many flights to Guam are there per day from the city you live in?

Medicare does not cover you outside the US and it's territories.

In an emergency you will be treated in the Philippines or you will die. Simple as that.

Non-emergency, you would receive treatment in the US whether you had part B or nothing at all, if you were in the US illegally, if you were a terrorist, you would still receive treatment if you reached a hospital alive.

 

[earthdome]

9 hours ago, robert k said:

Non-emergency, you would receive treatment in the US whether you had part B or nothing at all, if you were in the US illegally, if you were a terrorist, you would still receive treatment if you reached a hospital alive.

 

Did you have to include this political off topic crap in the discussion about medicare?

[robert k]

1 hour ago, earthdome said:

Did you have to include this political off topic crap in the discussion about medicare?

It's not political crap, it's facts. Do you dispute that all those mentioned would be treated at a hospital in the US?

Further, I did not say the practice of treating everyone needed to be stopped, recommended that people vote a certain way OR recommend a course of action. 

To me it appears that you are trying to drag politics into the thread.

As for off topic, aren't you a little far off yourself?

Edited October 6, 2016 by robert k

[Nephi]

20 hours ago, davewe said:

You do not have to take Medicare B; you can opt out. However, if you opt out and later on decide you want it, I think there's a bit of a penalty. " Your monthly premium for Part B may go up 10% for each full 12-month period that you could have had Part B, but didn't sign up for it."

Part B covers 2 types of services

• Medically necessary services: Services or supplies that are needed to diagnose or treat your medical condition and that meet accepted standards of medical practice.
• Preventive services: Health care to prevent illness (like the flu) or detect it at an early stage, when treatment is most likely to work best.

If you're living in the Philippines and are unlikely to use Medicare at all, other than a trip to the US or Guam for a surgery, then opting out is reasonable. That's what I intend to do.

Same here - I'm staying right here in the islands and will not need Medicare. In line with this concern I contacted my Social Security worker at the embassy on the issue. She told me that a long as my address and direct deposit was here in the Philippines that they automatically opt me out of Medicare payment at 65yrs old. Not even a need to contact the embassy about it unless I just feel more comfortable doing so..

[earthdome]

13 hours ago, robert k said:

Non-emergency, you would receive treatment in the US whether you had part B or nothing at all, if you were in the US illegally, if you were a terrorist, you would still receive treatment if you reached a hospital alive.

 

Did you have to include this political off topic crap in the discussion about medicare?

 

3 hours ago, robert k said:

It's not political crap, it's facts. Do you dispute that all those mentioned would be treated at a hospital in the US?

Further, I did not say the practice of treating everyone needed to be stopped, recommended that people vote a certain way OR recommend a course of action. 

To me it appears that you are trying to drag politics into the thread.

As for off topic, aren't you a little far off yourself?

I could dispute your "facts" but that would be off topic. As were your comments off topic and political. If raising the issue of illegal immigrant's and terrorist's is not political then nothing is political. 

[robert k]

3 hours ago, earthdome said:

Did you have to include this political off topic crap in the discussion about medicare?

 

I could dispute your "facts" but that would be off topic. As were your comments off topic and political. If raising the issue of illegal immigrant's and terrorist's is not political then nothing is political. 

If you can refute my facts then do so.

It appears you have mistaken my intent which was to demonstrate that someone legally entitled to be in the US would receive treatment at a hospital.

You can ignore reality but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.

Bruce. the OP brought up Medicare and part B. I was merely making the point that if in extremis if you were able to go back to the US you would be treated at a hospital whether you had Medicare part B or not.

I could try to explain it to you more. What I can't do is understand it for you.

[strap]

Let me try to get this thread back on topic. I'd hate to see it get closed, it's an important subject with potentially some really big financial implications.

Here's my understanding and summary of a few of the facts being discussed.

- Basically Part A is hospitalization insurance. Most all Americans who turn 65 get this free, there are no premiums.

- Part B is medical insurance (think doctor's visits, lab tests, etc), things that happen while you're not hospitalized.

- Part B is optional. You have to apply for it if you want it. I don't think you have to opt out when you turn 65. If you never apply, you never get it and they never charge you premiums. If you do enroll in Part B, you can un-enroll later.

- The current Part B monthly premium for most new enrollees is $121.80 (not $200+).

- There is a SIGNIFICANT lifetime penalty for not enrolling in Part B when you're first eligible or for un-enrolling, basically 10% per year of not being enrolled when eligible. For example, if you're 70 years old this year and decided to sign up for Part B, your premiums would be approx $180/month instead of $120/month. The penalty applies every month for the rest of your life.

- I've never seen anything that indicates that the clock stops on the Part B premium penalty accumulating just because you're living outside the US.

So I think if you're settled in the Philippines and have no intention of ever returning to the states (or Guam) to live or to have medical treatment, you may be OK without Part B. But if you're just testing the waters or want to leave your options open, you may want get out the calculator and do a little figuring before you decide to drop or delay enrolling in Part B.

Edited October 6, 2016 by strap